translating “love yourself first” in Japanese

7 comments

1. なさい form carries more of a command sense than “it’s best to”

   and both 好き and 愛する convey more of a “like a person” than “be good to”

   i would offer the following possibility:

   まずは自分を大切にすること

   or maybe

   まずは自分を大事にすること

2. I feel like a tattoo of low-number kanji phrase might look slightly nicer than a full on sentence, but that’s a matter of taste, and I’ve never had a tattoo so I’m not one to judge. The phrase 唯我独尊 came to mind but that seems pretty over the top and not really the same meaning, maybe something more similar exists

3. All of the variations you mentioned convey the same general idea of “love yourself first,” but there are some slight differences in nuance and wording. Here are some brief explanations of each one:

   * まずは自分を好きになりなさい (mazu wa jibun wo suki ni nari nasai)
   This phrase is a bit longer and more formal-sounding than some of the others. It literally means “first, please come to like yourself,” and it uses the verb 好きになる (suki ni naru) which means “to come to like” or “to fall in love.”

   * まずは己を先に愛せ (mazu wa onore wo saki ni aise)
   This phrase is more concise and has a somewhat old-fashioned feel to it. It means “love yourself first” or more literally, “first, love yourself beforehand.” It uses the word 己 (onore) which means “oneself” or “I/myself,” and the verb 愛する (aisuru) which means “to love.”

   * まずは自分を愛する (mazu wa jibun wo aisuru)
   This phrase is a straightforward and common way to say “love yourself first.” It uses the verb 愛する (aisuru) again, and the particle を (wo) which marks the direct object (in this case, “yourself”).

   * まず自分自身を愛する (mazu jibun jishin wo aisuru)
   This phrase is similar to the third one, but adds the word 自身 (jishin) which means “oneself” or “self.” So it translates to “first, love yourself/self first.”

   All of these phrases are grammatically correct and convey the same general message, so the choice ultimately comes down to personal preference. However, if you are considering getting a tattoo, I would recommend consulting with a professional translator to ensure that the translation is accurate and appropriate for the context.

4. Another alternative is まず何よりも(必要なのは)自愛です。

5. I’ll just say the whole “love” thing used in a non-romantic way (e.g. Christian *thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself*) is foreign and will sound more or less weird in Japanese.

   I highly advise you to (re)consider the value of using Japanese only to make it sound weird and unnatural.

6. ご自愛専一に

   自愛専一

   These would be the least cringe and most close to what Japanese actually say without looking like a direct translation of English. I recommend the four character version.

7. Jesus, another bad Japanese tattoo in the making. Why does it need to be in Japanese? Just get it in English if you’re at all concerned if butchering the meaning, since there’s really no Japanese equivalent.